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2 How To Release LLVM To The Public
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12 This document contains information about successfully releasing LLVM ---
13 including subprojects: e.g., ``clang`` and ``dragonegg`` --- to the public. It
14 is the Release Manager's responsibility to ensure that a high quality build of
17 If you're looking for the document on how to test the release candidates and
18 create the binary packages, please refer to the :doc:`ReleaseProcess` instead.
25 LLVM is released on a time based schedule --- roughly every 6 months. We do
26 not normally have dot releases because of the nature of LLVM's incremental
27 development philosophy. That said, the only thing preventing dot releases for
28 critical bug fixes from happening is a lack of resources --- testers,
29 machines, time, etc. And, because of the high quality we desire for LLVM
30 releases, we cannot allow for a truncated form of release qualification.
32 The release process is roughly as follows:
34 * Set code freeze and branch creation date for 6 months after last code freeze
35 date. Announce release schedule to the LLVM community and update the website.
37 * Create release branch and begin release process.
39 * Send out release candidate sources for first round of testing. Testing lasts
40 7-10 days. During the first round of testing, any regressions found should be
41 fixed. Patches are merged from mainline into the release branch. Also, all
42 features need to be completed during this time. Any features not completed at
43 the end of the first round of testing will be removed or disabled for the
46 * Generate and send out the second release candidate sources. Only *critial*
47 bugs found during this testing phase will be fixed. Any bugs introduced by
48 merged patches will be fixed. If so a third round of testing is needed.
50 * The release notes are updated.
60 Release Administrative Tasks
61 ----------------------------
63 This section describes a few administrative tasks that need to be done for the
64 release process to begin. Specifically, it involves:
66 * Creating the release branch,
68 * Setting version numbers, and
70 * Tagging release candidates for the release team to begin testing.
75 Branch the Subversion trunk using the following procedure:
77 #. Remind developers that the release branching is imminent and to refrain from
78 committing patches that might break the build. E.g., new features, large
79 patches for works in progress, an overhaul of the type system, an exciting
80 new TableGen feature, etc.
82 #. Verify that the current Subversion trunk is in decent shape by
83 examining nightly tester and buildbot results.
85 #. Create the release branch for ``llvm``, ``clang``, the ``test-suite``, and
86 ``dragonegg`` from the last known good revision. The branch's name is
87 ``release_XY``, where ``X`` is the major and ``Y`` the minor release
88 numbers. The branches should be created using the following commands:
92 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/trunk \
93 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/branches/release_XY
95 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/trunk \
96 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/branches/release_XY
98 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/dragonegg/trunk \
99 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/dragonegg/branches/release_XY
101 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/test-suite/trunk \
102 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/test-suite/branches/release_XY
104 #. Advise developers that they may now check their patches into the Subversion
107 #. The Release Manager should switch to the release branch, because all changes
108 to the release will now be done in the branch. The easiest way to do this is
109 to grab a working copy using the following commands:
113 $ svn co https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/branches/release_XY llvm-X.Y
115 $ svn co https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/branches/release_XY clang-X.Y
117 $ svn co https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/dragonegg/branches/release_XY dragonegg-X.Y
119 $ svn co https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/test-suite/branches/release_XY test-suite-X.Y
124 After creating the LLVM release branch, update the release branches'
125 ``autoconf`` and ``configure.ac`` versions from '``X.Ysvn``' to '``X.Y``'.
126 Update it on mainline as well to be the next version ('``X.Y+1svn``').
127 Regenerate the configure scripts for both ``llvm`` and the ``test-suite``.
129 In addition, the version numbers of all the Bugzilla components must be updated
130 for the next release.
132 Build the LLVM Release Candidates
133 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
135 Create release candidates for ``llvm``, ``clang``, ``dragonegg``, and the LLVM
136 ``test-suite`` by tagging the branch with the respective release candidate
137 number. For instance, to create **Release Candidate 1** you would issue the
142 $ svn mkdir https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/tags/RELEASE_XY
143 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/branches/release_XY \
144 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/tags/RELEASE_XY/rc1
146 $ svn mkdir https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/tags/RELEASE_XY
147 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/branches/release_XY \
148 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/tags/RELEASE_XY/rc1
150 $ svn mkdir https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/dragonegg/tags/RELEASE_XY
151 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/dragonegg/branches/release_XY \
152 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/dragonegg/tags/RELEASE_XY/rc1
154 $ svn mkdir https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/test-suite/tags/RELEASE_XY
155 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/test-suite/branches/release_XY \
156 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/test-suite/tags/RELEASE_XY/rc1
158 Similarly, **Release Candidate 2** would be named ``RC2`` and so on. This keeps
159 a permanent copy of the release candidate around for people to export and build
160 as they wish. The final released sources will be tagged in the ``RELEASE_XY``
161 directory as ``Final`` (c.f. :ref:`tag`).
163 The Release Manager may supply pre-packaged source tarballs for users. This can
164 be done with the following commands:
168 $ svn export https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/tags/RELEASE_XY/rc1 llvm-X.Yrc1
169 $ svn export https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/tags/RELEASE_XY/rc1 clang-X.Yrc1
170 $ svn export https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/dragonegg/tags/RELEASE_XY/rc1 dragonegg-X.Yrc1
171 $ svn export https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/test-suite/tags/RELEASE_XY/rc1 llvm-test-X.Yrc1
173 $ tar -cvf - llvm-X.Yrc1 | gzip > llvm-X.Yrc1.src.tar.gz
174 $ tar -cvf - clang-X.Yrc1 | gzip > clang-X.Yrc1.src.tar.gz
175 $ tar -cvf - dragonegg-X.Yrc1 | gzip > dragonegg-X.Yrc1.src.tar.gz
176 $ tar -cvf - llvm-test-X.Yrc1 | gzip > llvm-test-X.Yrc1.src.tar.gz
181 The builds of ``llvm``, ``clang``, and ``dragonegg`` *must* be free of
182 errors and warnings in Debug, Release+Asserts, and Release builds. If all
183 builds are clean, then the release passes Build Qualification.
185 The ``make`` options for building the different modes:
187 +-----------------+---------------------------------------------+
189 +=================+=============================================+
190 | Debug | ``ENABLE_OPTIMIZED=0`` |
191 +-----------------+---------------------------------------------+
192 | Release+Asserts | ``ENABLE_OPTIMIZED=1`` |
193 +-----------------+---------------------------------------------+
194 | Release | ``ENABLE_OPTIMIZED=1 DISABLE_ASSERTIONS=1`` |
195 +-----------------+---------------------------------------------+
200 Build ``Debug``, ``Release+Asserts``, and ``Release`` versions
201 of ``llvm`` on all supported platforms. Directions to build ``llvm``
202 are :doc:`here <GettingStarted>`.
204 Build Clang Binary Distribution
205 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
207 Creating the ``clang`` binary distribution (Debug/Release+Asserts/Release)
208 requires performing the following steps for each supported platform:
210 #. Build clang according to the directions `here
211 <http://clang.llvm.org/get_started.html>`__.
213 #. Build both a Debug and Release version of clang. The binary will be the
216 #. Package ``clang`` (details to follow).
218 Target Specific Build Details
219 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
221 The table below specifies which compilers are used for each Arch/OS combination
222 when qualifying the build of ``llvm``, ``clang``, and ``dragonegg``.
224 +--------------+---------------+----------------------+
225 | Architecture | OS | compiler |
226 +==============+===============+======================+
227 | x86-32 | Mac OS 10.5 | gcc 4.0.1 |
228 +--------------+---------------+----------------------+
229 | x86-32 | Linux | gcc 4.2.X, gcc 4.3.X |
230 +--------------+---------------+----------------------+
231 | x86-32 | FreeBSD | gcc 4.2.X |
232 +--------------+---------------+----------------------+
233 | x86-32 | mingw | gcc 3.4.5 |
234 +--------------+---------------+----------------------+
235 | x86-64 | Mac OS 10.5 | gcc 4.0.1 |
236 +--------------+---------------+----------------------+
237 | x86-64 | Linux | gcc 4.2.X, gcc 4.3.X |
238 +--------------+---------------+----------------------+
239 | x86-64 | FreeBSD | gcc 4.2.X |
240 +--------------+---------------+----------------------+
242 Release Qualification Criteria
243 ------------------------------
245 A release is qualified when it has no regressions from the previous release (or
246 baseline). Regressions are related to correctness first and performance second.
247 (We may tolerate some minor performance regressions if they are deemed
248 necessary for the general quality of the compiler.)
250 **Regressions are new failures in the set of tests that are used to qualify
251 each product and only include things on the list. Every release will have
252 some bugs in it. It is the reality of developing a complex piece of
253 software. We need a very concrete and definitive release criteria that
254 ensures we have monotonically improving quality on some metric. The metric we
255 use is described below. This doesn't mean that we don't care about other
256 criteria, but these are the criteria which we found to be most important and
257 which must be satisfied before a release can go out.**
262 LLVM is qualified when it has a clean test run without a front-end. And it has
263 no regressions when using either ``clang`` or ``dragonegg`` with the
264 ``test-suite`` from the previous release.
269 ``Clang`` is qualified when front-end specific tests in the ``llvm`` regression
270 test suite all pass, clang's own test suite passes cleanly, and there are no
271 regressions in the ``test-suite``.
273 Specific Target Qualification Details
274 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
276 +--------------+-------------+----------------+-----------------------------+
277 | Architecture | OS | clang baseline | tests |
278 +==============+=============+================+=============================+
279 | x86-32 | Linux | last release | llvm regression tests, |
280 | | | | clang regression tests, |
281 | | | | test-suite (including spec) |
282 +--------------+-------------+----------------+-----------------------------+
283 | x86-32 | FreeBSD | last release | llvm regression tests, |
284 | | | | clang regression tests, |
286 +--------------+-------------+----------------+-----------------------------+
287 | x86-32 | mingw | none | QT |
288 +--------------+-------------+----------------+-----------------------------+
289 | x86-64 | Mac OS 10.X | last release | llvm regression tests, |
290 | | | | clang regression tests, |
291 | | | | test-suite (including spec) |
292 +--------------+-------------+----------------+-----------------------------+
293 | x86-64 | Linux | last release | llvm regression tests, |
294 | | | | clang regression tests, |
295 | | | | test-suite (including spec) |
296 +--------------+-------------+----------------+-----------------------------+
297 | x86-64 | FreeBSD | last release | llvm regression tests, |
298 | | | | clang regression tests, |
300 +--------------+-------------+----------------+-----------------------------+
305 Once all testing has been completed and appropriate bugs filed, the release
306 candidate tarballs are put on the website and the LLVM community is notified.
307 Ask that all LLVM developers test the release in 2 ways:
309 #. Download ``llvm-X.Y``, ``llvm-test-X.Y``, and the appropriate ``clang``
310 binary. Build LLVM. Run ``make check`` and the full LLVM test suite (``make
311 TEST=nightly report``).
313 #. Download ``llvm-X.Y``, ``llvm-test-X.Y``, and the ``clang`` sources. Compile
314 everything. Run ``make check`` and the full LLVM test suite (``make
315 TEST=nightly report``).
317 Ask LLVM developers to submit the test suite report and ``make check`` results
318 to the list. Verify that there are no regressions from the previous release.
319 The results are not used to qualify a release, but to spot other potential
320 problems. For unsupported targets, verify that ``make check`` is at least
323 During the first round of testing, all regressions must be fixed before the
324 second release candidate is tagged.
326 If this is the second round of testing, the testing is only to ensure that bug
327 fixes previously merged in have not created new major problems. *This is not
328 the time to solve additional and unrelated bugs!* If no patches are merged in,
329 the release is determined to be ready and the release manager may move onto the
335 Below are the rules regarding patching the release branch:
337 #. Patches applied to the release branch may only be applied by the release
340 #. During the first round of testing, patches that fix regressions or that are
341 small and relatively risk free (verified by the appropriate code owner) are
342 applied to the branch. Code owners are asked to be very conservative in
343 approving patches for the branch. We reserve the right to reject any patch
344 that does not fix a regression as previously defined.
346 #. During the remaining rounds of testing, only patches that fix critical
347 regressions may be applied.
352 The final stages of the release process involves tagging the "final" release
353 branch, updating documentation that refers to the release, and updating the
359 Review the documentation and ensure that it is up to date. The "Release Notes"
360 must be updated to reflect new features, bug fixes, new known issues, and
361 changes in the list of supported platforms. The "Getting Started Guide" should
362 be updated to reflect the new release version number tag available from
363 Subversion and changes in basic system requirements. Merge both changes from
364 mainline into the release branch.
368 Tag the LLVM Final Release
369 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
371 Tag the final release sources using the following procedure:
375 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/branches/release_XY \
376 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/llvm/tags/RELEASE_XY/Final
378 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/branches/release_XY \
379 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/cfe/tags/RELEASE_XY/Final
381 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/dragonegg/branches/release_XY \
382 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/dragonegg/tags/RELEASE_XY/Final
384 $ svn copy https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/test-suite/branches/release_XY \
385 https://llvm.org/svn/llvm-project/test-suite/tags/RELEASE_XY/Final
387 Update the LLVM Demo Page
388 -------------------------
390 The LLVM demo page must be updated to use the new release. This consists of
391 using the new ``clang`` binary and building LLVM.
393 Update the LLVM Website
394 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
396 The website must be updated before the release announcement is sent out. Here
399 #. Check out the ``www`` module from Subversion.
401 #. Create a new subdirectory ``X.Y`` in the releases directory.
403 #. Commit the ``llvm``, ``test-suite``, ``clang`` source, ``clang binaries``,
404 ``dragonegg`` source, and ``dragonegg`` binaries in this new directory.
406 #. Copy and commit the ``llvm/docs`` and ``LICENSE.txt`` files into this new
407 directory. The docs should be built with ``BUILD_FOR_WEBSITE=1``.
409 #. Commit the ``index.html`` to the ``release/X.Y`` directory to redirect (use
410 from previous release).
412 #. Update the ``releases/download.html`` file with the new release.
414 #. Update the ``releases/index.html`` with the new release and link to release
417 #. Finally, update the main page (``index.html`` and sidebar) to point to the
418 new release and release announcement. Make sure this all gets committed back
424 Have Chris send out the release announcement when everything is finished.